The former Ohio State University wrestler who has accused Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan of ignoring sexual misconduct at the hands of a school doctor told university officials in June that his “intent” was to obtain a settlement for alleged victims of the abuse.
“Our intent is to expeditiously reach a negotiated settlement, without conflict, that compensates the victims for the trauma they have suffered because of this sex abuse, deals with the individuals that knew of this situation, but chose to do nothing about it, and corrects the atmosphere that may still exist at OSU, and therefore would allow this to happen again in the future,” reads a June 26 email that the former wrestler, Mike DiSabato, sent to attorneys working for OSU as well as Democratic Ohio state Sen. Joe Schiavoni.
The email did not mention Jordan, but a week later, on July 3, NBC News published an article that relied heavily on allegations from DiSabato that Jordan was aware of but turned a blind eye to the behavior of Richard Strauss, a physician for the OSU athletic program in the 1980s and 1990s.
Six other wrestlers have since come forward to claim that Jordan likely knew of the Strauss allegations since they were widely discussed among OSU wrestlers. Jordan was an assistant coach from 1987 to 1995.
DiSabato linked in his June 26 email to a video testimonial of himself and two other Strauss victims who claimed the doctor inappropriately touched them during physicals. Jordan is not mentioned in the video. (RELATED: Jim Jordan’s Accusers Have A Sketchy History, Raising Questions About ‘Authenticity’)
DiSabato has given numerous media interviews accusing Jordan of falsely denying that he knew nothing about sexual abuse allegations from wrestlers.
Jordan, a conservative Republican who is vying for the House speaker role, has said that he never heard of abuse committed by Strauss. He has said that he would have taken action to protect his wrestlers if he had.
DiSabato’s email to OSU attorneys was circulated to reporters on Wednesday by Bret Adams, a sports agent who has been an outspoken critic of DiSabato. DiSabato was arrested in February on telephonic harassment charges stemming from an incident involving Adams.
In an email to reporters, Adams called DiSabato’s June 26 email an “extortion letter.”
Jordan and many of his supporters have called DiSabato’s motives into question. Some have accused him of using Jordan’s political position to go after OSU, who he sued in 2008 over a sports merchandising deal. (RELATED: Former Wrestling Coaches Come Out In Support Of Jim Jordan)
DiSabato has also seemingly made light of the Strauss saga.
A former OSU wrestler named George Pardos recently posted a video of DiSabato on a bus with members of the rap group Bone Thugs and Harmony in which DiSabato appears to pull down his pants in front of another man while yelling “Strauss is in the house.”
A source familiar with the video says it was recorded in April.
Reached by phone on Wednesday, DiSabato told The Daily Caller News Foundation “no comment” when asked about the video.
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